The Future of Forestry

Can fast-tracking innovation save old growth and the industry at large?

BY BLAINE WILLICK

IF YOU HAVE been paying attention to recent developments in the forestry sector of BC, you’ll notice a declining trend. Many rural and northern communities that have relied on forestry for decades are now being confronted with lost jobs and mill closures. This is happening in Chetwynd, Houston, Prince George, Port Alberni and many more small communities.

Statistics Canada has reported that in the last 30 years the forestry industry has lost around 40,000 jobs. The issues relating to softwood lumber trades with the US, the pine beetle, the turbulent lumber market and the rise in forest fires have all played a role in this decline.

The BC government has come out with an eight-point plan to protect old growth, stabilize these communities and transition into a more stable and sustainable industry. At the centre of the plan is $25 million for Forest Landscape Planning (FLP) which is a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to forest stewardship than the current industry developed model. FLP collaborates with First Nations and industry to provide greater certainty about the areas where sustainable harvesting can occur.

The province will be doubling the Manufacturing Job Fund (MJF) from $90 million to $180 million. The MJF, announced back in January, will help transition forestry communities in several ways. Mills will be supported to process smaller diameter trees and produce higher value wood products, like mass timber that is a versatile product used in construction, with properties competitive with steel and concrete. The announcement states that the MJF will accelerate shovel-ready projects across the manufacturing ecosystem, with one of the examples being listed as companies that want to expand into plastics-alternative manufacturing facilities.

Another aspect of the plan will accelerate implementation of the Old Growth Strategic Review. The original report from 2020 had 14 recommendations to inform a new approach to old-growth management in British Columbia. Within this plan the government will focus on the acceleration of:

• Developing and implementing alternatives to clear-cutting practices.

• Repealing outdated wording in the Forest and Range Practices Act regulations that prioritizes timber supply over all other forest objectives.

• Increasing Indigenous participation in co-developing changes to forest policy through $2.4 million provided to the First Nations Forestry Council.

• Protecting more old-growth forests and biodiverse areas by leveraging millions of dollars of donations to fund conservation supported by the province and First Nations.

• Enabling local communities and First Nations to finance old-growth protection by selling verified carbon offsets.

• Completing the Old Growth Strategic Action Plan by the end of 2023.

“Our forests are foundational to BC. In collaboration with First Nations and industry, we are accelerating our actions to protect our oldest and rarest forests,” said Premier David Eby. “At the same time, we will support innovation in the forestry sector so our forests can deliver good, family-supporting jobs for generations to come.”